Conventional push brooms are used for sweeping shop floors, public buildings, garden patios, roads, sidewalks, etc. Often the push broom encounters materials such as mud, snow, ice, chewing gum, and other debris which stick to the surface being swept. In such circumstances, the sweeping action of the push broom alone is insufficient to free the sticking materials. As a result, the user of the push broom may reverse the broom head by turning it upside down and using the broom head to scrape the materials off the surface being cleaned. However, the head alone may not be sufficient to scrape the surface and it is subjected to unnecessary wear and tear. Alternatively, a separate cleaning tool such as a scraper may be used. However, the use of a separate cleaning tool may be inconvenient.
As a result, scraper attachments for push brooms have been developed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,138 issued Jun. 23, 1992 to Flamm describes a combined push broom and scraping apparatus comprised of a number of parts welded together to form a relatively complex structural arrangement. Further, the apparatus is mounted to the push broom by a series of wood screws screwed directly into the head of the broom. This manner of mounting renders attachment and detachment of the apparatus a relatively time-consuming and difficult task, likely requiring the use of tools to do so. Further, the manner of mounting the apparatus damages the broom head and may weaken it structurally.
Similarly, United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2,150,015A filed Nov. 16, 1983 by Dymott et. al. and published Jun. 26, 1985, describes a combined brushing and scraping tool. The scraping tool is attached to the broom by fasteners which mount directly into both the broom handle and the broom head. Thus, again, attachment and detachment of the tool to the broom are relatively timeconsuming and difficult, likely requiring the use of tools, and both the handle and the head are damaged and may be weakened structurally.
Other prior combination tools such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,163,979 issued Jun. 27, 1939 to Judson and U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,658 issued Apr. 24, 1956 to Sproston have been developed which are mounted to the push broom without damaging it or weakening it structurally. The Sproston patent describes a scraper for attachment to a broom which is comprised of a relatively complex structural arrangement made up of a number of pieces. In the preferred embodiment, the scraper is directly mounted to the broom head by a bolt that passes through the broom head. However, an alternate embodiment is also described for use with a broom head having two sockets in it which merge and form an opening in the bottom of the broom head, thus forming a V-shaped passage. Conventionally, the broom handle is capable of being mounted in either of these sockets. When using the alternate embodiment, the broom handle cannot be mounted to the head conventionally as both sockets are used to mount the scraper to the broom head. This manner of mounting utilizes a U-bolt placed within the sockets and held in place by wing nuts. This manner of mounting also renders attachment and detachment of the scraper relatively time-consuming and difficult to perform.
Although the structure of the actual scraper attachment in the Judson patent is less complex than in the Sproston patent, the manner of mounting the scraper attachment to the push broom in the Judson patent renders attachment and detachment of the scraper attachment relatively time-consuming and difficult to perform. The scraper attachment is only for use with a push broom of the type having two sockets in the head which merge and form an opening in the bottom of the broom head. The scraper attachment is mounted to the handle by a split collar clamp which is held in place by a bolt and a nut. The scraper attachment is mounted to the broom head by one of the sockets in the broom head. A bolt extends from the scraper into one of the sockets and is threaded into a bracket, also located within the socket. The bracket includes a curved arm which extends out the other end of the socket and contacts the outer surface of the head of the broom. Tools may be required to mount the scraper attachment and to tighten it in place on the push broom.
Finally, when using a push broom, the broom handle is subjected to stress which may cause the broom handle to break. This is most likely to occur at the point where the handle is mounted to the broom head. Further, this problem may be compounded when a force is applied through the handle for using the scraper attachment. However, with the exception of the Dymott patent, none of the prior art described herein addresses this difficulty. With respect to the Dymott patent, although the scraper tool includes a brace member, the brace member is mounted into the broom handle, as well as the head, which structurally weakens the portion of the broom which the brace is designed to support. As well, the screws mounting the brace member into the broom handle may tend to loosen over time, rendering the brace member less effective.
There is therefore a need in the industry for a scraper device for attachment to a broom which has a relatively simple structure and which may be attached and detached to the broom in a relatively quick and easy manner as compared to known scraper devices, without damaging the broom such that its structure is weakened. Further, there is a need in the industry for means for bracing the handle of the broom when the scraper device is attached to the broom, without damaging the handle such that the structure of it is weakened.